Magnetic recording unit with lid

ABSTRACT

A disk drive motor ( 5 ) for driving and rotating a recording medium (disk), a head ( 57 ) for recording or playing back information to/from this disk, and a head drive mechanism for driving the head, are disposed inside a case body ( 15, 16 ) of the magnetic recording unit. A lid body ( 17 ) to close the cartridge insertion slot ( 18 ) is disposed the case body ( 15, 16 ) at a position facing the cartridge insertion slot ( 18 ). When the lid body ( 17 ) falls down the front side and the cartridge insertion slot ( 18 ) is opened, the top face of the lid body ( 17 ) becomes substantially on the same plane as the top face of the frame plate where the disk drive motor ( 5 ) and the head ( 17 ) drive mechanism are mounted.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is the U.S. National Phase of International ApplicationNo. PCT/JP99/01414 filed Mar. 19, 1999, which claims priority toJapanese patent application Nos. 71589/1998 filed Mar. 20, 1998 and343644/1998 filed Nov. 18, 1998, incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an improvement of a magnetic recordingunit where such a recording medium as a disk is housed in a cartridge soas to attach to such an information equipment as a portable computer.

2. Description of the Related Art

A card type magnetic recording unit, such as a PC card, is attached toportable information equipment, such as a portable compact computer, sothat the portable information equipment reads information from themagnetic recording medium of the magnetic recording unit or writesinformation to the magnetic medium.

However, most of the card type magnetic recording units use asemiconductor memory for the recording medium, which is expensive andhas small recording capacity.

To provide an inexpensive and portable recording unit, a card typerecording unit, to which a cartridge housing a disk type recordingmedium is set, was developed so that the information stored on therecording medium (disk) is read by the head and is output to a computeror information from a computer is written to the disk by the head.

Such a magnetic recording unit, however, does not have a lid over a slotfor inserting the cartridge housing the recording medium (disk).Therefore, a foreign substance enters into the magnetic recording unitthrough this slot, causing a functional failure to the card typemagnetic recording unit.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a magnetic recordingunit which does not allow a foreign substance to enter through thecartridge slot of the magnetic recording unit when the magneticrecording unit is not housing a cartridge.

To achieve the above object, a magnetic recording unit in accordancewith the present invention comprises: a case body having a cartridgeinsertion slot so as to insert a cartridge housing a disk, which is arecording medium, to inside the case body through the cartridgeinsertion slot; and a disk drive motor for driving and rotating thedisk, a head for recording or playing back information to/from thisdisk, and a head drive mechanism for driving the head, which aredisposed inside the case body, wherein a lid body to close the cartridgeinsertion slot is disposed on the cases body or on a support elementmounted to the case body at a location facing the cartridge insertionslot.

Since the lid body is disposed at the cartridge insertion slot of themagnetic recording unit, the present invention can prevent a foreignsubstance from entering the magnetic recording unit in a state when acartridge is not loaded. As a consequence, a magnetic recording unitwhich has high reliability and good portability can be provided.

Also the lid body is structured so as to support the inner walls at thetop and body of the case body, therefore deformation of the magneticrecording unit can be prevented even if an external force is exerted onthe unit in the thickness direction, and as a result, a magneticrecording unit which has high safety can be provided.

Also a lid body housing section for housing the lid body is disposed, bywhich the top face of the lid body and the top face of the frame platebecome on the same plane, therefore the cartridge is guided by the topface of the lid body and the top face of the frame plate, so that thecartridge is loaded smoothly into the unit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view viewed diagonally from the top depicting amagnetic recording unit and a cartridge of an embodiment in accordancewith the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an explanatory drawing depicting the state where the top coverthe magnetic recording unit in FIG. 1 is removed;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view depicting the C—C cross-section in FIG.2 (top cover is removed);

FIG. 4 is a drawing depicting details of the area around the cartridgeinsertion slot when the top cover and the frame plate are removed fromthe magnetic recording unit shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view depicting the D—D cross-section in FIG.2 (top cover is attached);

FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged sectional view where the D portion inFIG. 3 is enlarged;

FIG. 7 is an explanatory drawing depicting the state where the edge ofthe cartridge is loaded in the magnetic recording unit shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a partially enlarged sectional view where the portion relatedto the disk driving motor in the cross-sectional view shown in FIG. 3 isenlarged; and

FIG. 9 is a partially enlarged sectional view where the portion relatedto the record/playback head in the cross-sectional view shown in FIG. 3is enlarged.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An overview of the magnetic recording unit 1 and the cartridge 2, whichis set to the magnetic recording unit 1 or ejected thereof, will beexplained with reference to FIG. 1.

The magnetic recording unit 1 is covered with a case body which isformed in a card shape having external dimensions conforming to thePCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) type IIstandard. The case body has a space to house the cartridge 2 inside, andencloses a mechanism section (described later) comprising of a motor fordriving the disk, a playback/record head, a motor for driving theplayback/record head, and a circuit board (not illustrated) forcontrolling these motors.

At the front end part of the case body, a connector 24 for attaching themagnetic recording unit to the computer main body is exposed. At therear end part of the case body, a cartridge insertion slot 18 forinserting the cartridge 2 into the magnetic recording unit 1 is formed.

The cartridge 2 comprises a disk case 11 and a disk 10 which is housedin the disk case 11 and is a recording medium rotatably supported by thedisk case 11.

The connector 24 is connected to the slot on an information equipmentsuch as a computer (not illustrated) by moving the magnetic recordingunit 1 in the arrow A direction. The cartridge 2 is set inside themagnetic recording unit 1 through the cartridge insertion slot 18 bymoving the cartridge 2 in the arrow B direction.

Now an overview of the magnetic recording unit 1 will be explained withreference to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3.

The case body comprises a bottom cover 16 and a top cover 15, as shownin FIG. 2. A frame plate 19 is disposed roughly at the center in theheight direction of the space between the bottom cover 16 and the topcover 15. The connector 24 is attached to the front end of the frameplate 19. The disk drive motor 5, the record/playback head body 57 andthe head motor for driving the record/playback head are mounted on thetop face side of the frame plate 19. On the bottom face side of theframe plate 19, on the other hand, the circuit board having controlcircuits (not illustrated) is mounted.

The frame plate 19 is made of non-magnetic material, stainless steelhaving non-magnetic properties for example. On the frame plate 19, asshown in FIG. 3, a first mounting concave section 20 and a secondmounting concave section 43 are formed by drawing processingrespectively. In the frame plate 19, the first mounting concave section20 is formed at a position where the disk drive motor 5 is mounted asshown in FIG. 2, and the second mounting concave section 43 is formed atthe area where the record/playback head body 57 is mounted, also asshown in FIG. 2. Using the first mounting concave section 20 and thesecond mounting concave section 43, the disk drive motor 5 and therecord/playback head body 57 (head drive motor) are installed, whosedetails are explained later.

The lid body 17 for opening/closing the cartridge insertion slot 18 isinstalled inside the case body at a position near the cartridgeinsertion slot 18. The lid body 17, as shown in FIG. 2, is an elementhaving a rectangular shape which stretches in the width direction of thecase body when its cross-section is viewed. The structure of the lid 17will now be described with reference to FIG. 4 to FIG. 7.

The base 17 bof the lid body 17 is formed to be flat (see FIG. 6 andFIG. 7). On the face of the lid body 17 which faces the inside of thecase body, a rotational shaft 17 a of which axis is in the longitudinaldirection of the lid body 17 is attached at two locations near the base1 7 b, at the left and right.

On the edge, at the side of the cartridge insertion slot 18, of thebottom cover 16 constituting the case body, as shown in FIG. 4, theplate shaped lid body support element 60 is joined by spot welding. Thesign 60 s in FIG. 4 denotes the spot welded locations. Both ends of thelid body support element 60 are extended toward the cartridge insertionslot 18, and the tips are bent and raised, forming the lid body supportsections 60 a to receive the rotation shaft 17 a of the lid 17.

Therefore, if the rotation shaft 17 a of the lid body 17 is inter-fittedin the lid body support sections 60 a of the lid body support element60, the lid body 17 can rotate around the rotation shaft 17 a so as totilt toward the inside of the case body.

The lid body 17, where rotation shafts 17 a at the left and right aresupported by the lid body support sections 60 a of the lid body supportelement 60, is constantly receiving force in the direction to close thecartridge insertion slot 18 by a spring 71 for exerting force. The lidbody 17 receiving force by the spring 71 contacts, along its entirewidth, the top and bottom inner walls of the cartridge insertion slot 18of the case body, and as a result, a state closing the cartridgeinsertion slot 18 is maintained.

If a bending force in the width direction is exerted on the magneticrecording unit 1 (or on the case body) when the lid body 17 covers thecartridge insertion slot 18 by the force exerted by the spring 71, thelid body 17 supports the top and bottom inner walls of the case body.Since the base 17 b of the lid body 17 is flat, the lid body 17 cansupport the top and bottom inner walls of the case body withoutrotating, even if an external force is exerted from outside the casebody. Therefore, the magnetic recording unit 1 having a lid body so asto face the cartridge insertion slot 18 is resistant to bending in theleft and right directions.

The edge of the frame plate 19 at the cartridge insertion slot 18 sideis between the first mounting concave section 20 and the cartridgeinsertion slot 18, and is bent toward the bottom cover 16. Since theframe plate 19 has this section bent toward the bottom cover 16 (frameplate bent section 19 a), resistance to bending in the width directionis increased.

A lid body housing section 1 a occupies the area ranging from the frameplate bent section 19 a to the cartridge insertion slot 18.

When the cartridge 2 is moved to the arrow F direction, as shown in FIG.6, and the tip of the cartridge 2 pushes the lid body 17, the lid body17 is pushed down inside the case, resisting the force exerted by thespring 71, that is, the lid body 17 rotates in the arrow G direction. Ifthe cartridge 2 is pushed more in the arrow F direction, the lid body 17rotates 90 degrees from the position closing the cartridge insertionslot 18, and is housed in the lid body housing section 1 a as shown inFIG. 7.

The thickness of the lid body 17 is determined such that when the lidbody 17 is housed in the lid body housing section 1 a, the top face ofthe lid body 17 (that is, the external face of the lid body 17 whichcloses the cartridge insertion slot 18) and the top face of the frameplate 19 become substantially on the same plane.

Therefore, if the cartridge 2 is pushed further from the position inFIG. 7 toward the inside of the magnetic recording unit 1 (in the arrowH direction), the cartridge 2 is moved while being guided by the topface of the lid body 17 and the top face of the frame plate 19, reachinga predetermined position in the magnetic recording unit 1, engaging withthe ejector mechanism (not illustrated). In this way, the rear part ofthe cartridge 2 which is set in the magnetic recording unit 1 is on thelid body 17 housed in the lid body housing section 1 a.

If the cartridge 2 set in the magnetic recording unit 1 is pulled out,the lid body 17 housed in the lid body housing section 1 a rises by theforce exerted by the spring element, and closes the cartridge insertionslot 18. The state where the lid body 17 closes the cartridge insertionslot 18 is maintained by the force exerted by the spring element.

Next, mounting the disk drive motor at the first mounting concavesection 20 formed in the frame plate 19 will be explained with referenceto FIG. 8.

The first mounting concave section 20 formed by drawing processing hasthe shape of a shallow cup with a circular cross-section. At the base ofthe first mounting concave section 20, a disk drive motor mountingsection 19 c is formed around the opening 39 formed at the center bydrawing processing in a direction opposite from the drawing direction ofthe first mounting concave section 20.

The motor bearing 38 is inter-fitted inside the disk drive motormounting section 19 c, and the rotor shaft 30 is inter-fitted inside themotor bearing 38. The mounting base 31 for mounting the disk 10 isformed on the rotor shaft 30, and a rotor 28 and a disk attractionmagnet 32 are secured on the mounting base 31.

The rotor 28 has a shallow cup shape with a circular cross-section. Theopening of this cup faces the base of the first mounting concave section20. On the wall surrounding the rotor 28, a plurality of rotor magnets33 are fixed at equal intervals in the circumference direction. The topface of the rotor 28 and the top face of the frame plate 19 aresubstantially on the same plane. The top face of the disk attractionmagnets 32 is slightly higher than the top face of the rotor 28.

A yoke element 28 f, which has a plurality of arms arranged radially, isinter-fitted in the disk drive motor mounting section 19 c. This yokeelement 28 f is made of magnetic material and is secured at the firstmounting concave section 20. A stater coil 29 is coiled on each arm. Thetips of the arms, where the stator coil 29 is coiled closely, face therotor magnets 33 of the rotor 28. The stater coil 29 is connected to thecontrol circuit, which is formed on the circuit board disposed at thebottom face of the frame plate 19, and is driven by the control circuit.

The disk drive motor is comprised of the rotor 28 where the rotormagnets 33 are secured, and the yoke element where the stater coil 29 iscoiled on the arms, as explained above.

Next, mounting the record/playback head body 57 and the head drive motorfor driving the record/playback head body 57 at the second mountingconcave section 43 formed on the frame plate 19 will be explained withreference to FIG. 9.

The second mounting concave section 43 formed by drawing processing hasa shallow cup shape with a circular cross-section. Furthermore, the headdrive motor installation section 19 e is formed at the center in thebase of the second mounting concave section 43 by drawing processing, inthe same direction as the drawing direction of the second mountingconcave section 43.

The head shaft 26 is inter-fitted in the head drive motor mountingsection 19 e. On the head shaft 26, two head bearings 45 areinter-fitted. A head substrate 36, which is the substrate of therecord/playback head body 57, is secured outside the two head bearings45.

A head arm 37 and a head moving coil 47 are secured on the headsubstrate 36. The head arm 37 is formed as a long arm shape made of athin plate, and the record/playback head (not illustrated) is mounted atthe tip. This record/playback head faces the recording face of the disk10 housed in the cartridge 2.

A roughly arc shaped opening 21 is formed in the frame plate 19 at thearea facing the head moving coil 47. The center of the arc of theopening 21 is the center of the head shaft 26. The bottom yoke 34 isinter-fitted in this opening 21. This bottom yoke 34 is made of magneticmaterial, and its shape is the same as the shape (arc) of the opening21, and the thickness is the same as the thickness of the frame plate19. Therefore the thickness of the magnetic recording unit can bedecreased by the thickness of the bottom yoke 34, compared with the casewhen the bottom yoke 34 is secured on top of the frame plate 19.

The head drive magnet 25 is secured on the bottom yoke 34 closely facingthe bottom face of the head moving coil 47. The top yoke 35 is mountedon the frame plate 19 closely facing the top face of the head movingcoil 47 (see FIG. 2). This top yoke 35 and bottom yoke 34 jointly createa magnetic field at the position of the head moving coil 47.

The head moving coil 47 is connected to the control circuit which isdisposed on the circuit board at the bottom face side of the frame plate19, and current is supplied to the head moving coil 47 by this controlcircuit.

The head drive motor is comprised of the top yoke 35, the bottom yoke34, the head drive magnet 25, and the head moving coil 47, as explainedabove.

And as explained above, the top yoke 35, the bottom yoke 34 and the headdrive magnet 25 generate a magnetic field at the position of the headmoving coil 47 which generates a driving force in the head moving coil47. By this drive force, the record/playback head (not illustrated)mounted on the head arm 37 can move in roughly a radial direction on therecording face of the disk 10, and can record/playback informationto/from the disk 10.

What is claimed is:
 1. A magnetic recording unit comprising: a case bodycomprising a top cover and a bottom cover, said top cover comprising atop inner wall, and said bottom cover comprising a bottom inner wall,said case body further comprising a front end and a rear end; acartridge insertion slot at said rear end to accept a cartridge that isinserted through said slot into said case body, wherein said cartridgecomprises a data storage medium; a lid body disposed within said casebody at a location facing said cartridge insertion slot to close saidslot, said lid body having a top portion, a base portion, an insideface, and an external face; wherein said top portion supports said topinner wall and said base portion supports said bottom inner wall of saidcase body, whereby said lid body prevents deformation of said case body;and a frame plate disposed within said case body and contacting saidcase body, whereby said frame plate prevents deformation of said casebody.
 2. The magnetic recording unit according to claim 1, wherein saidlid body closes said cartridge insertion slot from inside said case bodyusing a force exerted by a spring element.
 3. The magnetic recordingunit according to claim 2, wherein said lid body tilts inside and opensthe cartridge insertion slot when an external force exceeding said forceexerted by said spring element is applied through the cartridgeinsertion slot.
 4. The magnetic recording unit according to claim 3,wherein a housing section for housing the lid body which has tilted downinside is formed in said case body at an area near the cartridgeinsertion slot, and when the lid body which has tilted down by thecartridge insertion operation is housed in said housing section, thecartridge passing through the cartridge insertion slot is guided on anouter portion of said lid body.
 5. The magnetic recording unit accordingto claim 3, wherein the axis about which said lid body rotates existsnear a ridge line of the lid body between said inside face and said baseportion which comes into contact with said bottom inner wall when thelid body closes the cartridge insertion slot.
 6. The magnetic recordingunit according to claim 5, wherein said case body further comprises asupport element mounted on either said top inner wall or said bottominner wall.
 7. The magnetic recording unit according to claim 1, whereinsaid lid body contacts an entire width of said top inner wall and saidbottom inner wall of said case body at an area around said cartridgeinsertion slot, when said cartridge insertion slot is closed.
 8. Themagnetic recording unit according to claim 7, wherein said base portionof said lid body is formed to be flat, said base portion contacts saidbottom inner wall when the cartridge insertion slot is closed.
 9. Themagnetic recording unit of claim 1, wherein said lid body is disposed ona support element mounted to said case body.
 10. The magnetic recordingunit according to claim 9, wherein said lid body is rotatably supportedby the support element mounted in said case body.
 11. The magneticrecording unit according to claim 10, wherein said lid body has arotation shaft, and said support element has a rotation shaft supportsection which holds and rotatably supports said rotation shaft.
 12. Themagnetic recording unit of claim 1, further comprising a disk drivemotor for driving and rotation said disk, a head for recording orplaying back information to/from said disk, and a head drive mechanismfor driving said head, which are disposed inside the case body.
 13. Themagnetic recording unit of claim 1, further comprising an edge of saidframe plate bent toward said bottom cover.
 14. A magnetic recording unitcomprising: a case body having a cartridge insertion slot so as toinsert a cartridge housing a disk, which is a recording medium, toinside the case body through said cartridge insertion slot; and a diskdrive motor for driving and rotation said disk, a head for recording orplaying back information to/from said disk, and a head drive mechanismfor driving said head, which are disposed inside the case body, a lidbody to close said cartridge insertion slot disposed on the case body oron a support element mounted to said case body at a location facing saidcartridge insertion slot; wherein said lid body closes said cartridgeinsertion slot from inside said case body using a force exerted by aspring element, and wherein said lid body tilts inside and opens thecartridge insertion slot when an external force exceeding said forceexerted by said spring element is applied through the cartridgeinsertion slot; and wherein said disk drive motor and head drivemechanism are mounted using respective concave sections formed on aframe plate, and when the lid body which has tilted down by thecartridge insertion operation is housed in the housing section, the topface of the lid body and the top face of said frame plate aresubstantially on the same plane where said concave sections are notformed.
 15. A magnetic recording unit comprising: a case body having acartridge insertion slot so as to insert a cartridge housing a disk,which is a recording medium, to inside the case body through saidcartridge insertion slot; and a disk drive motor for driving androtation said disk, a head for recording or playing back informationto/from said disk, and a head drive mechanism for driving said head,which are disposed inside the case body, a lid body to close saidcartridge insertion slot disposed on a support element mounted to saidcase body at a location facing said cartridge insertion slot; whereinsaid case body further comprises a top cover and a bottom cover, andsaid support element is mounted on either the top cover or the bottomcover; wherein said lid body closes said cartridge insertion slot frominside said case body using a force exerted by a spring element, andwherein said lid body tilts inside and opens the cartridge insertionslot when an external force exceeding said force exerted by said springelement is applied through the cartridge insertion slot; wherein an axisabout which said lid body rotates exists near a ridge line of the lidbody between a face of the lid body which faces the inside of the casebody and a face of the lid body which comes into contact with the bottomcover when the lid body closes the cartridge insertion slot; whereinboth ends of said support element mounted on either the top cover or thebottom cover extend toward the cartridge insertion slot, and tips of thesupport element are bent and raised, forming the rotation shaft supportsection.